Michael Wyshock, Waiting in Line after Katrina, 2005, charcoal & graphite on paper

Displaced Artists Fund

Vermont Studio Center’s Displaced Artists Fund exists to assist visual artists and writers displaced due to natural disasters, climate change, or political turmoil or threat by providing residencies in a safe and supportive community of creative peers.

By providing a creative community of refuge in Vermont, these residencies restore normalcy to studio practice, ease the isolation that often accompanies displacement, and extend VSC’s founding spirit of “artists supporting artists” to those most in need.

Program history and vision

The Displaced Artists Fund at VSC was first established to support artists whose studio practices had been disrupted by California wildfires. The Studio Center has since hosted artists directly affected by the events of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Tropical Storm Irene, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and superstorm Sandy. Funding these residencies has been based on partnerships with individuals and foundations (including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation) in the wake of specific disasters.

Thanks to generous support from the Marshall and Margherite McComb Foundation and The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, we have expanded the Displaced Artists Fund in the wake of the devastating 2017-18 hurricane and wildfire seasons. Displaced artists and writers are eligible for fully subsidized 4- to 6-week residencies along with necessary and appropriate travel support.

If your organization is interested in partnering with VSC to assist displaced artists, please contact Program Director Kathy Black at kblack@vermontstudiocenter.org for more information on how to get involved.

Information for artists affected by natural disaster

If you are an artist or writer* living anywhere in the world who has been directly affected by natural disaster, you may apply directly for a Displaced Artist Fund residency. These residencies are 4- to 6-weeks in duration.

You are also required to provide 1-2 qualified professional references who can speak to the nature of your creative work as well as the nature of your displacement and the urgency of your need for creative refuge at this time.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling monthly basis as long as funding exists. Priority review may be available to applicants with immediate verifiable need (a deadline, gallery show, or other time-sensitive professional opportunity). There is no fee to apply for these opportunities.

Please note that the application is currently closed. We are actively seeking additional funding for this program and will keep this section of the website up to date with more information.

Additional emergency resources

While VSC acknowledges the tremendous cost of personal tragedy, the Displaced Artist Fund is unfortunately not able to provide assistance to individuals affected by illness, injury, unemployment, sudden loss of income, eviction, or other personal emergencies at this time.

If you are seeking support related to a personal emergency, there are a number of resources available. Organizations that maintain updated lists of emergency assistance resources for artists and writers in need include: